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46 changes: 16 additions & 30 deletions docs/building-with-ai.mdx
Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -22,40 +22,30 @@ We provide multiple tools to help AI coding assistants write correct Trigger.dev
</Step>

<Step title="Install Skills">
Portable instruction sets that teach any AI coding assistant Trigger.dev best practices. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code (Copilot), and any tool that supports the [Agent Skills standard](https://agentskills.io).
Portable instruction sets that teach any AI coding assistant Trigger.dev best practices: writing tasks, realtime frontends, and `chat.agent` AI agents. They ship with the CLI, version-matched to your SDK, and install into Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (Copilot), and Codex / AGENTS.md.

```bash
npx skills add triggerdotdev/skills
npx trigger.dev@latest skills
```

[Learn more →](/skills)
</Step>

<Step title="Install Agent Rules">
Comprehensive rule sets installed directly into your AI client's config files. Works with Cursor, Claude Code, VS Code (Copilot), Windsurf, Gemini CLI, Cline, and more. Claude Code also gets a dedicated subagent for hands-on help.

```bash
npx trigger.dev@latest install-rules
```

[Learn more →](/mcp-agent-rules)
</Step>

</Steps>

## Skills vs Agent Rules vs MCP
## Skills and the MCP server

Not sure which tool to use? Here's how they compare:
Skills and the MCP server do different jobs and work best together. Here's how they compare:

| | **Skills** | **Agent Rules** | **MCP Server** |
|:--|:-----------|:----------------|:---------------|
| **What it does** | Drops skill files into your project | Installs rule sets into client config | Runs a live server your AI connects to |
| **Installs to** | `.claude/skills/`, `.cursor/skills/`, etc. | `.cursor/rules/`, `CLAUDE.md`, `AGENTS.md`, etc. | `mcp.json`, `~/.claude.json`, etc. |
| **Updates** | Re-run `npx skills add` | Re-run `npx trigger.dev@latest install-rules` or auto-prompted on `trigger dev` | Always latest (uses `@latest`) |
| **Best for** | Teaching patterns and best practices | Comprehensive code generation guidance | Live project interaction (deploy, trigger, monitor) |
| **Works offline** | Yes | Yes | No (calls Trigger.dev API) |
| | **Skills** | **MCP Server** |
|:--|:-----------|:---------------|
| **What it does** | Drops skill files into your project that teach Trigger.dev patterns | Runs a live server your AI connects to |
| **Installs to** | `.claude/skills/`, `.cursor/skills/`, `.github/skills/`, `.agents/skills/` | `mcp.json`, `~/.claude.json`, etc. |
| **Updates** | Re-run `npx trigger.dev@latest skills`, or auto-prompted on `trigger dev` | Always latest (uses `@latest`) |
| **Best for** | Teaching patterns and best practices | Live project interaction (deploy, trigger, monitor) |
| **Works offline** | Yes | No (calls Trigger.dev API) |

**Our recommendation:** Install all three. Skills and Agent Rules teach your AI *how* to write code. The MCP Server lets it *do things* in your project.
**Our recommendation:** Install both. Skills teach your AI *how* to write Trigger.dev code; the MCP Server lets it *do things* in your project.

## Project-level context snippet

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -238,7 +228,7 @@ These follow the [llms.txt standard](https://llmstxt.org) and can be fed directl
<AccordionGroup>

<Accordion title="AI keeps generating old v2/v3 code">
Install [Agent Rules](/mcp-agent-rules) or [Skills](/skills) they override the outdated patterns in the AI's training data. The [context snippet](#project-level-context-snippet) above is a quick alternative.
Install [Skills](/skills); they override the outdated patterns in the AI's training data. The [context snippet](#project-level-context-snippet) above is a quick alternative.
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="MCP server won't connect">
Expand All @@ -249,9 +239,8 @@ These follow the [llms.txt standard](https://llmstxt.org) and can be fed directl
</Accordion>

<Accordion title="Which tool should I install?">
All three if possible. If you can only pick one:
- **Agent Rules** if you want the broadest code generation improvement
- **Skills** if you use multiple AI tools and want a single install
Both if possible:
- **Skills** to teach your AI how to write Trigger.dev code (tasks, realtime, chat.agent)
- **MCP Server** if you need to trigger tasks, deploy, and search docs from your AI
</Accordion>

Expand All @@ -264,10 +253,7 @@ These follow the [llms.txt standard](https://llmstxt.org) and can be fed directl
Install and configure the MCP Server for live project interaction.
</Card>
<Card title="Skills" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" href="/skills">
Portable instruction sets for any AI coding assistant.
</Card>
<Card title="Agent Rules" icon="scroll" href="/mcp-agent-rules">
Comprehensive rule sets installed into your AI client.
Install Trigger.dev agent skills into any AI coding assistant.
</Card>
<Card title="Writing tasks" icon="code" href="/tasks/overview">
Learn the task patterns your AI assistant will follow.
Expand Down
117 changes: 13 additions & 104 deletions docs/mcp-agent-rules.mdx

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🚩 mcp-introduction.mdx still links to Agent Rules with outdated description

The file docs/mcp-introduction.mdx:385 still contains a Card linking to /mcp-agent-rules with the old description "Install comprehensive rule sets directly into your AI client." While the link itself still works (the page exists as a deprecation notice), the card description is now misleading since agent rules have been replaced by skills. This PR didn't update that file. It's a minor consistency gap — not a bug since the page still exists and serves as a redirect.

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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -1,132 +1,41 @@
---
title: "Agent rules"
description: "Trigger.dev agent rules are now agent skills, installed with the trigger.dev CLI."
sidebarTitle: "Agent rules"
description: "Install Trigger.dev agent rules to guide AI assistants toward correct, up-to-date code patterns."
---

## What are Trigger.dev agent rules?

Trigger.dev agent rules are comprehensive instruction sets that guide AI assistants to write optimal Trigger.dev code. These rules ensure your AI assistant understands best practices, current APIs, and recommended patterns when working with Trigger.dev projects.

<Note>
Agent Rules are one of three AI tools we provide. You can also install [Skills](/skills) for portable cross-editor instruction sets or the [MCP Server](/mcp-introduction) for live project interaction. See the [comparison table](/building-with-ai#skills-vs-agent-rules-vs-mcp) for details.
Agent rules are now **agent skills**. The standalone rule files have been replaced by skills that
work across every major AI assistant from a single install. See [Skills](/skills).
</Note>

## Installation

Install the agent rules with the following command:

```bash
npx trigger.dev@latest install-rules
```

## Available rule sets

We provide five specialized rule sets, each optimized for different aspects of Trigger.dev development:

| Rule set | Tokens | Description | GitHub |
|:---------|:-------|:------------|:------------|
| **Basic tasks** | 1,200 | Essential rules for writing basic Trigger.dev tasks and fundamental patterns | [View](https://github.com/triggerdotdev/trigger.dev/blob/main/rules/4.0.0/basic-tasks.md) |
| **Advanced tasks** | 3,000 | Comprehensive rules for complex workflows, error handling, and advanced task patterns | [View](https://github.com/triggerdotdev/trigger.dev/blob/main/rules/4.0.0/advanced-tasks.md) |
| **Scheduled tasks** | 780 | Specialized guidance for cron jobs, scheduled workflows, and time-based triggers | [View](https://github.com/triggerdotdev/trigger.dev/blob/main/rules/4.0.0/scheduled-tasks.md) |
| **Configuration** | 1,900 | Complete guide for trigger.config.ts setup, environment configuration, and project structure | [View](https://github.com/triggerdotdev/trigger.dev/blob/main/rules/4.0.0/config.md) |
| **Realtime** | 1,700 | Using Trigger.dev Realtime features and frontend integration patterns | [View](https://github.com/triggerdotdev/trigger.dev/blob/main/rules/4.0.0/realtime.md) |

## Claude Code subagent

For Claude Code users, we provide a subagent called `trigger-dev-expert` that's an expert at writing well-structured Trigger.dev code.

### Installation

The subagent is available as an option when running the rules installation command. Select "Claude Code" as your client and choose to include the subagent when prompted.

![Claude Code subagent installation](/images/claude-code-subagent.png)

### Usage

Activate the subagent in your prompts by requesting it explicitly:

```markdown
use the trigger-dev-expert subagent to create a trigger.dev job that accepts a video url, processes it with ffmpeg to extract the audio, runs the audio through a text-to-speech API like openai, and then uploads both the transcription and the audio to s3
```

The subagent works best when combined with the appropriate rule sets installed alongside it, providing both high-level architectural guidance and detailed implementation knowledge.

## Supported AI clients

The Trigger.dev rules work across a wide range of AI coding assistants and editors:

| Client | Rule activation | Docs |
|:--------|:----------------|:--------------|
| **Cursor** | Automatic when working in trigger directories | [Link](https://docs.cursor.com/en/context/rules#rules/) |
| **Claude Code** | Context-aware activation + custom subagent | [Link](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code) |
| **VSCode Copilot** | Integration with GitHub Copilot chat | [Link](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/overview) |
| **Windsurf** | Automatic activation in Trigger.dev projects | [Link](https://docs.windsurf.com/windsurf/cascade/memories#rules) |
| **Gemini CLI** | Command-line integration | [Link](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs) |
| **Cline** | Automatic context detection | [Link](https://github.com/cline/cline) |
| **Sourcegraph AMP** | Code intelligence integration | [Link](https://sourcegraph.com/docs) |
| **Kilo** | Custom rule integration | [Link](https://kilocode.ai/docs/advanced-usage/custom-rules) |
| **Ruler** | Rule management | [Link](https://github.com/intellectronica/ruler) |
| **AGENTS.md** | Universal format for OpenAI Codex, Jules, OpenCode, etc. | |

### Rule activation behavior

Different AI tools handle rules differently:

- **Automatic Activation**: Cursor, Windsurf, VSCode Copilot, and Cline automatically apply relevant rules when working in Trigger.dev projects or when `trigger.config.ts` is detected
- **Context-Aware**: Claude Code intelligently applies rules based on the current context and file types
- **Manual Integration**: AGENTS.md clients and others append rules to configuration files for manual activation

## Keeping rules updated

Trigger.dev rules are regularly updated to reflect new features, API changes, and best practices. The CLI includes automatic update detection.

### Automatic update notifications

When running `npx trigger.dev@latest dev`, you'll receive notifications when newer rule versions are available with a simple update command.

### Manual updates

Update rules anytime with:

```bash
npx trigger.dev@latest install-rules
```

The update process replaces existing rules without creating duplicates, keeping your configuration files clean and organized.

### Why updates matter

- **Current API patterns**: Access the latest Trigger.dev APIs and features
- **Performance optimizations**: Benefit from improved patterns and practices
- **Deprecated pattern avoidance**: Prevent AI assistants from generating outdated code
- **New feature support**: Immediate access to newly released capabilities
## What changed

## Getting started
Trigger.dev used to install per-tool *rule files* (`.cursor/rules/trigger.*.mdc`, regions in `CLAUDE.md`, and so on) fetched from GitHub. That has been replaced by [agent skills](/skills): `SKILL.md` directories in the open [Agent Skills standard](https://agentskills.io) that ship inside the CLI, version-matched to the Trigger.dev version you build against, and load on demand instead of always sitting in your context.

1. Install the rules:
The install command is the same, and now installs skills:

```bash
npx trigger.dev@latest install-rules
npx trigger.dev@latest skills
```

2. Follow the prompts to install the rules for your AI client.
`npx trigger.dev@latest install-rules` still works as an alias, and `trigger dev` offers to install the skills on first run.

3. Consider installing the `trigger-dev-expert` subagent if using Claude Code.
The old task and realtime guidance now lives in the `authoring-tasks` and `realtime-and-frontend` skills, alongside two new skills for building `chat.agent` AI agents. See [Skills](/skills) for the full list and supported assistants.

## Next steps

<CardGroup cols={2}>
<Card title="Skills" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" href="/skills">
Portable instruction sets that work across all AI coding assistants.
Install Trigger.dev agent skills into your AI coding assistant.
</Card>
<Card title="MCP Server" icon="sparkles" href="/mcp-introduction">
Give your AI assistant direct access to Trigger.dev tools and APIs.
</Card>
<Card title="Complete AI setup" icon="layer-group" href="/building-with-ai">
See all AI tools and how they compare.
<Card title="Building with AI" icon="layer-group" href="/building-with-ai">
See how skills and the MCP server compare.
</Card>
<Card title="Writing tasks" icon="code" href="/tasks/overview">
Learn the task patterns that agent rules teach your AI assistant.
Learn the task patterns that skills teach your AI assistant.
</Card>
</CardGroup>
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